Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to public sector workers who have witnessed someone die by suicide at work.

The cross-Government suicide prevention strategy highlighted specific groups that are at high risk of suicide including those in contact with mental health services and the criminal justice system and other groups for which tailored approaches to address their mental health are required to reduce their risk of suicide such as children and young people and people who may be vulnerable due to their social and economic circumstances. We also know that there is a link between suicide and the transport network, especially the rail network. We work with a range of public sector organisations to promote suicide awareness and training.

Public sector organisations that provide services to people at risk of suicide should work with their staff to raise awareness of suicide prevention and provide appropriate training and support.

The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health recommended that all local areas should implement multi-agency suicide prevention plans by 2017. Public Health England published refreshed guidance on 25 October, ‘Local suicide prevention planning: a practice resource’, to support local areas to implement these plans which will bring together all local agencies to work collaboratively to prevent suicide:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/562280/PHE_local_suicide_prevention_planning_a_practice_resource.pdf

The guidance provides advice on providing suicide awareness training to professionals who may come into contact with people at risk of suicide.